Two-way rail fastening



Aug. 18, 1942. R. P. CLARKSON TWO-WAY RAIL FASTENING Filed April 29, 1940 Patented Aug. 18, 1942 warren 2 Claims.

My invention relates to two-way rail fastenings and has particular reference to resilient rail fastenings of such construction as to frietionally clamp the base flange of the rail and to be anchored against movement in either direction 1on gitudinally of the rail by engagement with the spike opening of an adjacent tieplate.

As is Well known in the art to which this invention applies, the usual form of one-piece anticreeper which frictionally engages the rail base depends solely for its effectiveness on its abutment against either tie or tieplate and thus acts to prevent rail movement but in actual practise the abutment against tie or tieplate takes place only after an initial wearing-in and adjustment period and such anticreepers themselves frequently creep along the rail or are moved out of engagement with tie or tieplate by movement of the rail itself in alternate expansion and contraction or by creeping of the rail caused, for example, by heavy braking of a train, as near stations where traffic stops or isslowed up. I am aware that there are other forms of rail fasteners anchored to the tieplate. or to the tie in such manner as to resist upward movement of the rail during wave motion and such fasteners sometimes cause pumping of the ties and loosening of the ballast or cause an up and down motion of the tieplate on the tie with a resultant wear of the spikes holding the tieplate to the tie.

My present invention provides an inexpensive one-piece rail fastener which is anchored to the tieplate and still leaves the rail free to have vertical motion, which is effective in both directions from the moment it is applied and which cannot become displaced from effective position during normal action. Moreover, a fastener according to my invention may be readily applied to existing track as well as to new construction and requires no special tieplate design or dimensions and no special tools for its application.

An object, then, of my invention is to provide a rail fastener which may be applied on existing railroad track construction and leave the rail free to move vertically during wave motion.

A further object of my invention is to provide a one-piece rail fastener of moderate cost which is effective at all times to prevent rail creeping in either direction.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a simple and easily applied rail fastener for railroad rails which itself remains positioned effectively from the moment of its operative psitioning.

Another object is to provide a rail fastener which is not dependent merely upon abutment against the side of the tie for its efiectiveness.

An object, also, is to provide a rail fastener which frictionally engages the rail base at one side of the tiepiate and is anchored by engagement with an existing spike hole in the tieplate.

With the foregoing and. other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction described in the specification and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made within the scope of what is claimed, Without departing from the spirit of the invention. I intend no limitation other than those of the claims when fairly interpreted in the light of the full disclosure and the present state of the art.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing lustrative of my invention and various forms of construction embodying my invention and the method of its application, including a form at present preferred,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrative of a rail and tieplate and a rail fastener applied according to my invention;

Fig. 2 is illustrative a rail fastener'similar to that: shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is illustrative of a preferred form of rail fastener according to my invention;

Fig. 4 illustrates a detail of the fastener of Fig; 1;

Fig. 5 is illustrative of an alternate form of anchor bend for a flat band fastener or the like;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1 illustrative of an alternate construction embodying my invention;

Fig. 7 is illustrative of an alternate form of rail edge bend for a round wire fastener;

Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 are illustrative of alternate forms of flat band fasteners according to my invention;

Fig. 10 is illustrative of a spike opening liner to prevent wear of the tieplate, adapted for use with the fastener of Fig. 2, if desired.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the views.

In Fig. 1 a rail I 0 with base flanges 8 and 9 is seated on a tieplate l2, shown shouldered and provided with the usual spike opening 6 for a rail spike and opening 1 for an anchor spike. A fastener according to my invention is shown ll comprising a single piece of resilient material having an arm 2 doubled upon itself as at I and extending transversely below the rail with an upturned rail edge engaging portion 3. A sidewardly extending arm 5 longitudinally of the rail joins the longer leg 2 with a shorter leg having a downturned portion 4 which in this case is doubled back on itself (Fig. 4) to provide rail spike width, and projects into the spike opening 6 in tieplate I2. The doubled portion of the leg 2 is of such dimensions as to form a resilient clamp which may be driven over the edge of the base flange 8.

When the fastener is driven on the base flange 8, it springs open because of the wedge shape of the rail base and its own resilient nature and grips the rail base frictionally with increasing force until the end 3 snaps up and holds it fast. At the same time the arm 5 has been sprung upwards and the down-turned portion 4 drags over the tieplate and snaps down into the spike hole. If convenient, of course, the rail may be tipped up while the fastener is applied, as is apparent.

An alternate design of fastener I IA is shown in Fig. 2 in which the sidewardly extending arm is provided with a hair-pin bend 13 giving a degree of longitudinal resiliency for alignment of the down-turned anchor end 40 which may be of rail spike dimensions or of smaller dimensions for cooperation with the spike hole liner 26 shown in Fig. 10, the latter consisting of a hardened member of sufficient length to extend through the tieplate with the lower portion 2| driven into the tie. Anopening at the top 22 provides a receptacle for engaging a down-turned end, as 40 of the fastener HA of Fig. 2. Thus the up and down motion of the rail l if communicated to the rail fastener II A permits the anchor portion 40 to ride in the receptacle 22 without wear of the tieplate. Moreover, the bend l3 in the fastener IA permits the arm 5 to run along the tieplate l2 or a shoulderless tieplate IZA at the edge of the rail.

It is apparent that various bars, straps and plates may be utilized to provide a fastener according to my invention and attention is called to the flat strap fastener l8 (Fig. 9) with a rail edge lock 3a and an anchor portion 4A of rail spike width which may be doubled upon itself, if desired as shown at 413 (Fig. 5). If the fastener is of round bar or wire, the rail edge lock (Fig. '7) may be swaged flat as at 3C, the under rail arm 20 remaining round.

An alternative form of fastener I1 is illustrated (Fig. 8) formed of a flat band presenting edge contact of the under rail arm 23 and of the clamp 33 which has a clamping portion I6 to be driven on the far side of the rail, preferably with the rail tipped so that when it is set down the anchor portion 4 seats in the spike hole.

I prefer at the present time, however, a fastener I5 (Fig. 3), preferably formed of plate of uni-. form thickness and with the longitudinal portion 5A slightly bowed, the spaced arms 2A and 4A being formed by removal of a portion of the plate therebetween, the latter arm being downward bent and of rail spike width and the former arm doubled upon itself as at IA and terminating with an upturned rail edge engaging portion 3A. Such a fastener, or any fastener according to my invention, may be applied to the rail in various ways. As for example, they may be applied as shown in Fig. 1 where engagement with the tieplate is made at the nearer spikehole 5 or they may be applied as shown in Fig. 6 where the engagement with the tieplate is made at the further spike hole as at 4A and a spike I9 driven into the nearer spike hole 6, thus not only acting as a rail spike to maintain gauge but also acting to hold the fastener l5 in position even if the lip 3A does not function or is broken off.

What I claim is:

1. In railway track construction, a tieplate provided with two spaced rail spike openings, a rail seated on said tieplate in such position that said two spike openings are spaced along one edge of said rail, a rail fastening frictionally engaging the base of said rail at one side of said tieplate and having an arm integral therewith extending longitudinally of said rail and terminating in a portion of rail spike width projecting downwardly into the farthest removed spike opening and a spike positioned in the nearer spike opening intermediate of said arm.

2. In a track construction, a two-way holding device for a railroad rail, comprising a drive fastener constructed and arranged to be driven over the base of a rail at a point removed from an adjacent tieplate and provided with an integral, resilient, sidewardly extending arm of rectangular section with a turned down portion of rail spike width adapted to drag over the tieplate and snap down into anchoring engagement with a spike hole of said tieplate when positioned and of such character as to prevent any longitudinal or arcuate movement of said fastener relative to said tieplate, and a turned up portion on said drive fastener adapted to snap up and catch the opposite edge of the rail base when said first mentioned turned down portion snaps down into anchoring engagement with said tieplate.

RALPH P. CLARKSON. 

